‘Stand With Palestine’: Education City Stadium to host star-studded fundraiser on December 15 

Doha, Qatar: Former and current football stars will assemble at the Education City Stadium on December 15 for a fundraising match to support the Palestinians affected by brutal Israeli aggression in Gaza, Qatar Foundation’s Qatar Academy Doha announced yesterday.

The “Stand With Palestine” initiative under which the charity match is being held is an initiative launched by the academy’s students including Al Mayassa bint Tamim Al Thani, Maryam Ahmed Al Hajri, Nayef Rashid Al Kubaisi, Mahdi Hussein Al Ahbabi and Asmaa Al Jaida.

The game, which aims to involve the local community in events and activities in solidarity with the Palestinians, will pit together teams under the names “Qatar” and “Palestine”.

Tickets are priced at QR25, available on Q-Tickets website with all proceeds to go in humanitarian relief and support efforts in Gaza.

More than 100 students from the Qatar Academy Doha, who are being trained by the Asian Football Confederation similar to the training of World Cup volunteers, will volunteer in the event.

“Such youth initiatives are important steps to express support for our people in Gaza who are going through an ordeal. Such steps also indicate that everyone including young people feels what our people are suffering from in Palestine and inspires the new generation to do more for them,” Al Kass Channel anchor Majed Al Mansouri told a press conference held at Education City Stadium yesterday.

“The students taking part in the event represent a large sector of the society that desires assistance and solidarity in all ways,” he added.

The match, which will have two halves of 30 minutes each, will kick off at 7pm. The event however will start one hour ahead with the introduction note by Abdullah Al Ghafri. The pre-match activities will include musical performances by artists Nasser Al Kubaisi, Dana Al Meer, Nasma Imad and Hala Al Emadi, who will perform the songs “Palestine Arabiya” and “Mawtani”.

The organisers have also lined up a drone show and raffle draw for prizes during the half-time. Former and current Qatari and international players, media figures, social media influencers, and students from Qatar Academy Doha and the Palestinian School will participate in the match.

While Academy student Nayef Al Kubaisi confirmed former Egyptian mifielder Mohamed Aboutrika and former Oman goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi will take part in the game, he said more football stars for the event will be named soon. “It’s a surprise. The match will see many big names – former and current stars – particularly from the region in action. Their names along with other details will be announced soon,” Nayef Al Kubaisi said yesterday.

“Donation will also be collected during the match in cooperation with Qatar Charity through a link that will be shared on the screens in the stadium. The amount of donations will also be announced during the event,” he added.

Speaking at the press conference, academy’s student Mahdi Ahbab hoped the 44,000 plus capacity Education City Stadium will be filled with fans.

“It will not just be a match but there will be many entertainment activities which will be organised for spectators,” he told reporters.

“The activities will involve the fans through contests and prizes. We are hoping the stadium will be packed and this event will be a resounding success showing how important is the Palestinian issue for all the Arabs,” said Mahdi Ahbab.

Meanwhile, Maryam Al Hajri, a student in the twelfth grade at Qatar Academy Doha, said: “The initiative began with our keenness to do something positive, after we saw what was happening to our brothers in Gaza, and the difficulties they are going through, and the importance of showing our support for them in this crisis and communicating this.”